


Slow Dancing

by mayfield84



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Lumax, Slow Dancing, Snow Ball (Stranger Things), Will Byers is a good friend, so soft, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-23 20:13:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20346034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayfield84/pseuds/mayfield84
Summary: It’s not often you get a chance to attend a formal event. That is, if you live in Hawkins, Indiana, and you’re 13 years old.That also means if you live in Hawkins, Indiana, and you’re 13 years old, you probably don’t know how to slow dance. Not yet, at least.(aka: lucas is a nervous mess because he can’t slow dance, then the bonus slow dancing scene between my two faves)





	Slow Dancing

**Author's Note:**

> this was inspired loosely by my friend, who taught me how to slow dance the other day just for the hell of it.
> 
> i got all of the canon snow ball dialogue that seemed important verbatim (or at least i tried) so forgive me if a word or two is wrong :)

It’s not often you get a chance to attend a formal event. That is, if you live in Hawkins, Indiana, and you’re 13 years old.

That also means if you live in Hawkins, Indiana, and you’re 13 years old, you probably don’t know how to slow dance. Not yet, at least.

And that’s why Lucas Sinclair paced the room back and forth.

A room he knew all too well: the Wheeler’s basement.

“Hey, Lucas, why the hell are you wearing a hole in my carpet?” Mike demanded. He sounded irate but his friends knew that was just his way of asking his friend what was on his mind.

“O-Oh, it’s nothing,” Lucas replied. His thoughts, however, were clearly not on this conversation.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you worry this much since we first met El. Seriously, dude, what’s up?” Dustin questioned from his place at the table, where he and Will brainstormed ideas for a new campaign.

Lucas’ heart sank. He really didn’t want Dustin to be there for this conversation, but he supposed now was a good a time as ever to stake his claim. “I want to ask Max to dance with me at the Snow Ball,” he explained slowly. His speech was concise and deliberate, albeit tentative.

He watched as his curly-haired friend’s face fell. But a voice from across the room stole Lucas’ attention.

“Really? Why _Max_? You have so many options, so many girls you could dance with, why would you choose her?” Mike’s voice was sharp. The dark-skinned boy couldn’t tell if it was jealousy or acrimony. Probably a little bit of both.

“_Because-_“ Lucas shot a sympathetic glance at Dustin, who looked devastated, “-I really like her! I think she’s rad!”

“Yeah... we kind of figured. Lucas, don’t worry about Mike. He’s just upset because El might not be able to go,” Will dismissed with a wave of his hand.

Dustin didn’t say a word. And Lucas knew why. They both knew why, but we’re too scared to mention it to each other.

Too scared to break their friendship over a girl, the dark-skinned boy supposed. He appreciated that his friend seemed to be backing off for him.

“Sorry Lucas. Max can be cool sometimes,” Mike grumbled. He recalled the time not too long ago when the redhead tranquilized and threatened her own savage stepbrother.

“Hell right she can,” Dustin murmured, too quiet for Lucas to hear but loud enough to earn a sympathetic pat on the shoulder from Will.

“Like I was saying,” Lucas continued, “I really wanna dance with her, but the problem is, I don’t know how to slow dance.”

Mike laughed. “Really dude? That’s what you’re worried about? What if... l don’t know, she doesn’t even say yes to you?”

Dustin shook his head sadly. “Mike, they held hands. She’s definitely into him,” he explained.

“And did I mention we almost kissed the other day? At the arcade? I was watching her play Dig Dug and she topped her high score and when she turned around I swear she almost kissed me. I mean, she opted for a hug instead, but the feelings were there, I swear!” Lucas defended himself further. 

Clearly none of the other boys had heard this story before, and at least Will looked pleasantly surprised.

“So wait, why didn’t you kiss her then?” The shorter boy prompted.

“I don’t know... I guess I didn’t know if she wanted to, and the moment was so short,” Lucas explained. Will nodded.

“Makes sense.”

The room was quiet once again. It was hard to talk about a girl when one of his friends hated her and another one liked her nearly as much as Lucas did.

“I can give you some pointers,” Will suggested out of nowhere. Relief flooded Lucas’ system.

“Really? Y-yeah, that sounds good,” he responded with a smile. The small boy got up from the table and walked over to his friend.

“You two,” he began, glancing at Mike and Dustin, “are fully welcome to join us. In case you want to learn too.”

Mike got up and joined them, but Dustin stayed put.

“So. Slow dancing begins when you first ask a girl to dance. After she says yes, assuming she does, take her by the hand and lead her to an empty spot on the dance floor,” Will advised slowly. “Then, you put both of your hands on her waist, and she will put her hands on your shoulders.” He walked over to Mike. “May I?”

His friend nodded reluctantly. Will placed his hands on the taller boy’s waist, who responded by putting his hands on his shoulders. The start height difference made the positioning slightly awkward. They both laughed.

“Usually, you’d want to stand closer than this, but we don’t really need to right now...” Will felt his face flush and he looked down at their feet.

“No, I want to give it a try. Can I be the dude?” Mike asked, removing his hands from their awkward place on his friend’s shoulders. He nodded in response and reached his hands up. Mike set his hands on the smaller boys waist and they scooted in closer.

“S-See, this is the optimal distance,” Will explained. There were about 6 inches between them. “And then, once you’re in position, you just sway slightly, like this,” he demonstrated. The two began to rock back and forth and it looked almost comfortable for them. After a moment of practicing this motion, Mike abruptly let go.

“I think that’s enough. Thanks, Will,” he nodded his head and quickly sat back down on the couch.

The other two boys watched in confusion. They weren’t exactly sure how to describe what just happened. But they proceeded anyway.

“Can I try, Will?” Lucas asked tentatively. The shorter boy nodded and approached his friend. “So, like this?” The dark-skinned boy asked as he placed his hands on Will’s waist. They were stiff as boards.

“I mean yeah, but don’t be afraid to touch her a little,” Will laughed, and he felt his friend’s fingers relax a bit. “Better.”

They swayed back and forth for a minute before Lucas separated himself.

“Thanks, man! That makes me feel a little better,” he smiled.

“No problem!” Will responded. “Hey Dustin, do you want to learn?”

“No, I’m good. Steve said he would teach me,” the curly-haired boy shook his head.

“Alright,” his friend responded.

The other boys nodded.

“That’s cool.”

From then on, the evening went on normally as they discussed the quickly-approaching Snow Ball. Mike mentioned cologne, Will talked about dancing shoes, Dustin talked about hairspray, but none of it could distract Lucas from his anxieties about Max.

Would she even say yes?

Thankfully, on the night of, the redhead was just as anxious. She would just never let it show.

“Ow, ow, that hurts,” Max groaned as Susan yanked on another chunk of her unruly copper curls.

“It gonna be worth it, promise,” Her mother responded wisely. She shoved one last pin into her daughters scalp, earning a yelp of pain, and stepped back.

Max looked at herself in the mirror. Somehow she had gotten her mother to let her wear pants on the one condition that she would let her do her hair. And it looked _good_. Her waves were much shinier than usual, and not nearly as frizzy. And, Susan had tied a neat braid on the top of her head and secured it with a pretty clip. It was slightly uncomfortable, but not too girly, at least. Max roller her eyes and flashed a tight smile at her mother.

A movement flashed in the corner of her eyes.

Billy.

He froze as soon as they made eye contact. She looked at him with wide, intense eyes, and instead of him making some sort of snarky comment like usual, her stepbrother looked at the ground and walked away. Ever since she had threatened him he had been docile and relatively bearable.

“Anytime, honey. Now, we have to go, you don’t want to be late now do you?” Susan squeezed her daughter’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head. She then took her hand and led her to the front door.

“Hey, Max, looking _good_. What’s the occasion?” Neil slurred from his seat on the couch. Clearly he had a few too many beers, yet he had another full one clasped in his fist.

“The, um, Snow Ball,” the young redhead bit her lip and stared at her shoes.

“What? I couldn’t hear you, speak up,” he demanded.

“It’s like their winter formal, sweetie,” Susan explained, her grip on her daughter’s shoulder tightening slightly.

“Oh. You gotta date?” the man asked, his eyebrows raised dramatically.

“No,” Max murmured. She still refused to look at him.

“Good. I don’t want to hear that you danced with that Negro boy Billy said you were hanging out with a couple weeks ago at the arcade, you hear? I don’t want people thinking we associate with creatures like that,” Neil growled. Max watched as his knuckles grew white around the beer bottle.

She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”

Susan flashed a worried look between her daughter and her husband. “We gotta go. I’ll see you soon, alright? I’m gonna drop her off and I’ll be right back,” she assured, and they hurried out the door.

The car ride to Hawkins Middle was silent.

“Have a good time, alright honey?” The older redhead told her as they drove into the parking lot. She pulled her mouth into a forced smile, which her daughter returned.

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll see you later,” Max recited.

“I love you, Maxine,” her mother said just after the car door closed.

Without thinking twice, the young redhead made her way into the school, through the hallways, and finally into the gym. It was completely different than usual. Decorations scattered the large room and it was entirely full of the student body. Max’s blue eyes scanned the room. When her check for familiar faces came up negative, she sighed. Of course they would all be late.

“_Shit_, I’m so late,” Lucas glanced at his watch as he hurried into the gym, “everyone else is probably there already,” he murmured to himself.

“Hey, Lucas, you’re here! Finally!” Will exclaimed, greeting him at the balloon archway. “We’re all waiting for you. Well, Minus Dustin. And El.”

“I know, I’m sorry! My mom insisted on taking pictures!” The dark-skinned boy protested. Will led him over to a table where he was sitting with Mike and Max.

Lucas’ gaze swept past his friends and landed directly on a certain redhead. Her hair was sleeker than usual and a small braid adorned the side of her head like a coopery crown. He shot Max his signature smile- and to his surprise, she grinned back. Her smile was equally as warm and genuine as his own.

“Hey, Stalker, you made it,” she greeted, her voice soft. 

“Yeah, finally,” Lucas nodded.

“You wanna sit? We’re waiting for Dustin to get here,” Max offered. The boy felt his heart sink slightly. Did that mean she was waiting to dance with him instead?

“Oh, sure!” He responded, and sat down in the open next to hers.

“These decorations are really tacky,” the redhead pointed out. She examined the room. It was covered in silvery blue and white balloons, streamers, confetti- you name it, they had it.

“It’s tacky as hell, but I kinda like it. It’s nice,” Lucas commented. He tried his best to swallow the butterflies in his stomach and he itched his sweaty palms. He hoped she felt the same. About the decorations, and about him.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Max chuckled softly. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap. So, she wasn’t as nervous, or maybe she was just hiding it well. “Even though they’re really cheap-looking, the fact that they went through all this trouble to make something special for us makes it a little better.”

“My point exactly!” The boy responded, his wide smile reaching up to his eyes. How someone could smile so warmly after being through so much Max would not come to understand for a long time. She still felt haunted by the Upside Down. Each time Will stumbled over his own feet, any time she heard footsteps behind her, every time something vaguely startling happened, the redhead would jump out of her skin or feel the hair on the back of her neck raise.

But tonight wasn’t about that.

Tonight was about putting all of that behind them.

And it was easy, considering they felt in that moment like they were the only people in the world.

The only ones that mattered, anyway. At least to each other.

“_Technically_, Stalker, it’s my point, because I said it first, but I’ll share with you. You’re lucky I’m nice,” Max teased, her nose crinkling up as she laughed. Apparently it was contagious.

“You’re nice? Since when?” Lucas laughed in response.

“Since-“ She began to speak again, but from Will and Mike’s conversation she heard a cry for Dustin.

And neither of them were not expecting him to look anything like that.

Mike got up to meet him first, but it was Lucas who’s words voices all of their thought.

“Holy shit, Dustin, what happened to you?” Lucas demanded, a hint of amusement in his tone.

Dustin, however, only looked confused. “What do you mean what happened?” He asked.

“What?” Mike exclaimed, clearly exasperated and at a loss for words.

“Dude, your hair,” Max clarified.

Lucas reached out and tangled his fingers in his friend’s stiff curls. “Is there a bird nesting in there?” 

“No! What do you mean, there’s nothing wrong with my hair, there’s no bird nesting in here, asshole, okay? I worked hard!”

The talking stopped when the Party members realized music changed. To a slow song. Time After Time.

Lucas took a deep breath. He knew it was his chance- he had to take his shot.

He turned to Max and gave her an awkward smile.

“Max?” he began hesitantly. This was the moment he had waited for. He had practiced this over and over again in his mirror. But for some reason, the right words didn’t want to come out properly. “Hey. Um, it’s nice, right?”

She looked expectantly at him to continue.

“Wanna, um, you wanna, like, you know, like... just you and me?” Lucas finished very eloquently.

Clearly he had a way with words.

“Are you trying to ask me to dance, Stalker?” Max asked, raising her eyebrows. She showed no positive nor negative emotions, just curiosity. And a little smugness, too. 

“No? Of course not, unless... you want to,” he suggested. He cursed himself for being unable to keep a straight tone.

“Sooo smooth,” Max rolled her eyes. “C’mon.”

Suddenly, Lucas felt her hand in his as she led him onto the dance floor. It was warm and soft and nothing like his damp, clammy palms he had been wringing all evening. Once the redhead found a spot she deemed suitable she turned to face her friend.

Max smiled as she drew him in, and he grinned right back at her as he gently placed his hands on her hips. Lucas noticed that most of the other girls just had their hands on their partner’s shoulders. Then he noticed Max’s were quite literally wrapped around the back of his neck. Only a slightly different action for worlds of different meanings.

“Stop being so stiff, it’s okay to touch me you know,” Max taunted, temporarily removing her arms to and put her hands on his hips, where his palms were resting. She curled her fingers on top of his long hands and soon both of his hands were being help tightly in place by no other than Max herself. “But better.”

“Sorry, I don’t have much practice,” Lucas murmured sheepishly. They swayed back and forth.

“No worries,” she replied. Reluctantly the redhead removed her hands from his and wrapped her wrists back around his neck. It brought their faces closer. Just ever so slightly.

Not that either of them cared.

Maybe.

As the first song ended, Lucas finally looked up from the ground and into his dance partner’s eyes. They were crystal blue and so full of emotion, and suddenly he felt his heart beating in his chest.

“It’s nice, right?” the dark-skinned boy repeated for the third time that night.

“Jeez, Stalker, I need to get you a new book of conversation starters and pickup lines,” Max teased, her gaze sparkling. “But yes, this is nice.”

“Yeah,” Lucas laughed along with her. He suddenly decided that her laugh was his favorite sound and he was determined to hear it more often. Now that things were over. The bad things.

Now that they could go back to being normal teenagers. Relatively speaking, of course.

How normal could a teenagers possibly life be after fighting off inter-dimensional monsters?

“Ooh, I like this song,” Max commented. It was Every Breath You Take by The Police.

“It’s a good one, that’s for sure,” Lucas responded nervously. It was a very romantic song.

“You like it? It suits you, Stalker,” the redhead teased yet again. Now that he listened, the lyrics were a little creepy and stalker-ish. But still sweet nonetheless.

“No, that’s not what I-“ he tried defending himself, but stopped once he saw Max shaking her head.

“I know, Lucas. Just shut up and listen to the music,” she told him with a soft smile. A smile that he hadn’t seen before from her; a smile that made him absolutely melt.

He nodded silently at her, and he could have sworn she pulled him in a little closer. He was also very aware that none of the other couples were standing this close. Perhaps she did actually want to dance with him, he concluded.

Suddenly the mood shifted. Their eyes were locked in the most intense staring contest ever (except it was one where blinking was allowed, and the expressions were more affectionate than competitive) and Lucas was compelled to never look away.

It was Max’s turn to take a nervous deep breath.

Obviously, she had heard about first kisses before, mostly from her friends back in California. They all sounded gross and messy and even her mom told her (many months ago) it would be a moment she would try to forget for a long time. Did she really want to do that to Lucas? Did she really want to take their friendship there?

Yes. She did. 

But did she really?

Yes, she was sure. In fact, she had spent all night contemplating it. 

Was it worth it, though? Billy and Neil and the rest of the racist population in Hawkins would make their relationship hard. It would complicate their friendship and the entire Party dynamic. She didn’t want to hurt Dustin’s feelings (yes, she knew, she wasn’t blind).

But the way Lucas pursed his lips as he gazed down at her drew her attention to his mouth, and suddenly, she couldn’t resist anymore. Max’s eyes fluttered closed and she stood on her toes to reach, pressing her mouth up against his.

At first the dark-skinned boy was taken aback, but after just a fraction of a second he kissed the fiery redhead back with just as much feeling.

What felt like a lifetime lasted only about two seconds before Max leaned away. She looked shocked– more at herself than anything else. But the rush of positive emotions that swelled in her chest afterward made her smile wide and shrug her shoulders. It was the kind of smile that covered her entire face, past her scrunched nose and crinkled eyes all the way to her furrowed brows. 

Lucas wanted to kiss her again.

But instead, the redhead widened her arms’ reach to encompass his shoulders too, and she buried her face into the boy’s chest. He smelled like cologne and familiarity and from that moment on, he smelled like pure unadulterated joy.

His hands moved naturally from her waist to her lower back as his chin rested on her shoulder. Lucas was sure the dorkiest grin was plastered on his face, but he was too happy to care. Max was there in his arms and she was soft and pretty. He was too happy to care that many judgmental eyes stared in the young couple’s direction.

Was it the most polished kiss ever? No. But it was the most perfect one the two of them could ever imagine.

But soon enough, the song was over so Max drew away from him. Her arms remained around his neck and his large hands returned to their place on her waist. This time much more comfortably.

“Wow,” Lucas mused, chuckling. The redhead bit her lip in an innocent smile and looked up at her friend with hopeful eyes.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Max echoed his words from many times earlier that night. 

“Yeah,” he replied. His tongue was tied and he was clearly unable to form more than one-word answers.

Max broke eye contact to look around the room. There seemed to be a just a few other couples in their situation: closer, more intimate connection, genuine feelings. Everyone else just seemed uncomfortable. The thought made her heart warm slightly.

They were the unique ones.

Lucas had known from the first time he had seen _MADMAX_ sprawled across the Dig Dug screen on that fateful fall day that whoever it was would be important, somehow.

He just hadn’t expected her to be so important that soon.

The certain girl in his arms meant more to him than he could have realized, and his feelings for her would only continue to grow.

It was that moment Lucas realized he was _screwed_-

in the best way possible.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed some more pure, sickeningly sweet lumax fluff. i should probably do something more substantial but fluff is just so much fun to write! i can’t help it, especially with all of the amazing prompts i get from you guys :)
> 
> speaking of which, keep the comments coming! they really do inspire me and motivate me to write, so if you want more content (regardless of whether or not you have a specific idea) leave a comment for me!
> 
> thanks and i hope you enjoyed this one <3


End file.
